JAMMU, DEC 31: The year 1998 will be remembered for Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah's rule in absentia. Even when the State needed him the most, given the series of selective killings by militants, severe financial crisis and agitations by the employees, the Chief Minister was either away holidaying in Europe or issuing press statements from not Jammu and Kashmir but, remote corners of the country.While the State Government over-promised and under-delivered on many fronts, the Chief Minister also had to eat his words on several occasions during the year. The poor performance even had echoes within the ruling party itself with several leaders hurling abuses against each other for getting a pasting from the BJP in Parliamentary polls.The year also witnessed National Conference (NC) Government lock horns with former State governor K V Krishna Rao in a bid to dilute the autonomy of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. The State also had a new Governor in G C Saxena after Rao completed his five-year termas the head of the State.While Abdullah was holidaying in London, the Government and the Public Sector employees were holding protest rallies and repeatedly extending their strike towards the end of the year against ``the shelving of their long-pending demands''. No one at the helm of affairs bothered to hold serious negotiations with the striking employees despite their agitation having severely affected medi-care facilities.With the State Government ignoring the striking employees, the agitation is likely to spill over very well into the next year given the tough stance that the employees have taken. The NC Government is being seen washing its hands off the problem with many of its ministers attributing it to financial crunch for want of Central help.Similarly, the much-talked about greater and regional autonomy for and within the State continued to be a mirage despite repeated assurances by Abdullah. Both the committees are yet to submit their reports even as the year ends.The Panchayat polls,which the State Government promised will take democracy to the grassroot level, were also postponed twice on one pretext or the other. Though Abdullah has announced holding of the local body polls in March next, there is every possibility that they will be postponed yet again.The State Government entered into an ugly row with former governor K V Krishna Rao over the issue of transfer and posting of some senior bureaucrats in the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. The Cabinet recalled its IAS official from deputation to the Shrine Board, as Rao objected to the posting of a bureaucrat by the Government there without his prior approval. The Cabinet also decided not to send any Government official on deputation to the religious institutions.The much-hyped Agriculture University and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine University could not come up at Jammu despite the Government having enacted legislation in the legislature. The Government was yet to identify land for both the educational institutions.The yearalso witnessed closure of all educational institutions and other business establishments in Jammu for two months in wake of an agitation by the students in protest against the alleged irregularities into the selection of candidates to medical colleges. There were uproarious scenes in the Legislative Assembly with Speaker suspending most of the Opposition from the House for rest of the session.After some days, the Assembly revoked the suspension of the Opposition MLAs and the Government constituted a committee to probe the alleged irregularities into the selection within a period of one month. However, the inquiry report had not been submitted even as the year draws to a close. The year also witnessed rumblings within the ruling party over its dismal performance, particularly during the Parliamentary polls. Many senior ruling party leaders were heard accusing each other for the poor performance in the polls. Also, one NC minister's son was also arrested for smuggling of deodar scants to outside the State inSeptember.Revenue Minister Abdul Ahad Vakil resigned following a tiff with Abdullah over delay in clearing a file pertaining to acquisition of some land at Jammu. Abdullah also ordered a major reshuffle in his Cabinet to give his Government a clean look, but the ministers facing allegations of corruption continued to remain in office. Later, Vakil was elected Speaker of the State Assembly. The Government also failed to break any ice on the employment front with educated unemployed youth pressing for jobs all over the State. It also failed to implement its decisions like ban on polythene bags and use of VIP protocol by the official vehicles. The Government even failed to recover the power tariff arrears from the people in the State.
